Any comments/advice from divorced mothers with time shared between both parents?

I am a proud mother, feeling the wight of the absence of my only son of 13yrs. He is with his Dad right now and will be back with me in August. As he gets older and spends more time with dad it seems to get harder to connect with him. It scares me, and saddens me. What can I do to enhance our connection as he rapidly approaches young manhood?

That's a bit of a challenge. We share custody and Jake, 13, is definitely a dad's boy.Sometimes I feel bad because he'd rather be with Daddy (he is mentally about 3 or 4) but once I have him and follow his lead, he is thrilled to be home and kicking Daddy out!

That's so hard! 13 year olds are hard enough to connect to without them being gone for long periods of time. I would just continue to reach out, even if he doesn't respond. He'll know you were there for him and realize how important that is when he comes out of the "teenager fog" in a few years. Write him letters, call and leave messages, etc. Just keep reminding him that you're there and you care without being overbearing.

Hi Taylor, thank you for your suggestion. It truly resonated with me. Although I do those things I do weaken at times in my consistency bc I get overwhelmed w/ sadness or discouragement at the whole situation, or him not calling back. But I have renewed my energies and I will keep doing this everyday. He will be with me in August to visit for a month, I can't wait!!:)